Please join us for Happy Hour at Key Bar on Tuesday, 9/14 from 5pm - 9pm!
Key Bar has graciously offered to donate 10% of profits from the event to Kate Hooks! The drink menu is tasty; I'd highly recommend the shakers! http://www.keybaraustin.com/
In addition, bring your extra change and enter a raffle to win free movie tickets! Yup, we'll be giving away a few pairs of movie tickets to lucky winners!! $1 gets you an entry into the raffle - you must be present to win!
And as always, please drink responsibly. While we want to raise a fair amount of money for Kate, we also want you to get home safely!
A small blog with big goals: Fundraise $14,000 for Kate's caretaking!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
All aboard! On Behalf of Kate Hooks, I am pleased to announce the first fundraiser!
$20 gets you on board a boat, with your flippy floppies, for four hours of fun in the sun.
When: Sunday, September 19th
Time: 2:30 SHARP, boat will be on the water from 3pm-7pm.
Where: Just for Fun
See the Evite: http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=MTJYYJLHHGSTPGCGBNWV
Pictures and event recap to follow!
$20 gets you on board a boat, with your flippy floppies, for four hours of fun in the sun.
When: Sunday, September 19th
Time: 2:30 SHARP, boat will be on the water from 3pm-7pm.
Where: Just for Fun
See the Evite: http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=MTJYYJLHHGSTPGCGBNWV
Pictures and event recap to follow!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Plea for Help!
For those of you who may not know me, my name is Jeanine Swanson and I live in Austin, TX.
I came to know Kate via the internet, of all places. I was scrolling around on various web pages one day, trying to read articles about running tips, advice, etc. and stumbled across Kate’s blog and an entry she had written about running. As I am training for my first marathon, her post caught my eye and I found myself reading the most intimate details of another person’s life. Kate used to be a runner too. To summarize her words, she loved to feel her heels strike the rubber of the indoor track, or having her quads burn as she finished her race. And like most of us who do run, it became a part of her identity.
Unfortunately, Kate was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, in 1997. For those that are unaware, MS is a chronic disease of the brain and spinal cord characterized by changes in sensation, visual problems, weakness, depression, difficulties with coordination and speech, impaired mobility and disability. Kate is now in a wheelchair.
She describes the loss of the ability to run in her blog in a very moving and powerful post. I summarize and paraphrase my favorite parts:
“Nothing, though, nothing at all compares to the grief I associate with running. My friend Eric asked me once (a few years back) if I remembered what it felt like to walk. The answer was, surprisingly, no. He and I both agreed it was probably preferable to forget. Why then, I wonder, do I still remember how it felt to run? When I face the window and close my eyes tightly, I can still feel it. I can feel the miracle of my nerves making my muscles contract when I want them to, and feel the impact of the ground beneath my feet. When I open my eyes this memory knocks the breath out of me, and it's all I can do to remind myself, in a totally different context, that I can do this and I will do this. But there are no words: it is so damn hard.”
To read the full post, click here or copy/paste this link into your web browser: http://katehooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/i-still-remember-running.html?spref=fb.
Kate is now a high school history teacher at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. She loves her job and her passion for teaching is evident in her writing:
"Teaching offers me a daily reprieve from thinking/stressing/obsessing about M.S., and though I am fully aware that what I do is not who I am, my job - at least at this point - feels like the best part of who I am. It's the part that makes me want to get out of bed in the morning, and the part that makes me feel like I still contribute something to this life of mine."
As I continued reading, I came across Kate's most recent post and learned that Kate needs to raise $14,000 for a caretaker. Kate requires approximately two hours of help in the morning and evenings in order to remain employed full time, and insurance does not cover this cost. The caretaker would help her with basic functions like getting dressed, cleaning, etc. – things that you and I take for granted. More importantly, a caretaker will allow Kate to continue teaching.
That said, join me in helping to fundraise on behalf of Kate. You have the ability to make a difference in someone’s life! Even the smallest donation – a dollar, two dollars, five dollars – it ALL makes a difference and gets us one step closer to giving Kate the help she needs.
Thank you for your time and generosity!
Jeanine Swanson
I came to know Kate via the internet, of all places. I was scrolling around on various web pages one day, trying to read articles about running tips, advice, etc. and stumbled across Kate’s blog and an entry she had written about running. As I am training for my first marathon, her post caught my eye and I found myself reading the most intimate details of another person’s life. Kate used to be a runner too. To summarize her words, she loved to feel her heels strike the rubber of the indoor track, or having her quads burn as she finished her race. And like most of us who do run, it became a part of her identity.
Unfortunately, Kate was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, in 1997. For those that are unaware, MS is a chronic disease of the brain and spinal cord characterized by changes in sensation, visual problems, weakness, depression, difficulties with coordination and speech, impaired mobility and disability. Kate is now in a wheelchair.
She describes the loss of the ability to run in her blog in a very moving and powerful post. I summarize and paraphrase my favorite parts:
“Nothing, though, nothing at all compares to the grief I associate with running. My friend Eric asked me once (a few years back) if I remembered what it felt like to walk. The answer was, surprisingly, no. He and I both agreed it was probably preferable to forget. Why then, I wonder, do I still remember how it felt to run? When I face the window and close my eyes tightly, I can still feel it. I can feel the miracle of my nerves making my muscles contract when I want them to, and feel the impact of the ground beneath my feet. When I open my eyes this memory knocks the breath out of me, and it's all I can do to remind myself, in a totally different context, that I can do this and I will do this. But there are no words: it is so damn hard.”
To read the full post, click here or copy/paste this link into your web browser: http://katehooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/i-still-remember-running.html?spref=fb.
Kate is now a high school history teacher at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. She loves her job and her passion for teaching is evident in her writing:
"Teaching offers me a daily reprieve from thinking/stressing/obsessing about M.S., and though I am fully aware that what I do is not who I am, my job - at least at this point - feels like the best part of who I am. It's the part that makes me want to get out of bed in the morning, and the part that makes me feel like I still contribute something to this life of mine."
As I continued reading, I came across Kate's most recent post and learned that Kate needs to raise $14,000 for a caretaker. Kate requires approximately two hours of help in the morning and evenings in order to remain employed full time, and insurance does not cover this cost. The caretaker would help her with basic functions like getting dressed, cleaning, etc. – things that you and I take for granted. More importantly, a caretaker will allow Kate to continue teaching.
That said, join me in helping to fundraise on behalf of Kate. You have the ability to make a difference in someone’s life! Even the smallest donation – a dollar, two dollars, five dollars – it ALL makes a difference and gets us one step closer to giving Kate the help she needs.
Thank you for your time and generosity!
Jeanine Swanson
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